HAMMOND CHIEFS NEWSLETTERS

NEWSLETTER: AUGUST 2012

Dear Players & Parents

This newsletter is to inform you of the most current information and upcoming events regarding our baseball program. If you have participated in one of our past programs or events, we hope you will take some time and look over the programs that we are offering this fall and into the 2013 season. If you are new to our program, please take some time to look at what we are offering local baseball players.

There are going to be some changes in our program beginning with the fall of 2012 and extending into the winter, spring and summer of 2013. These changes will be highlighted in this newsletter along with programs that our organization will be offering. Please take some time to read the newsletter. You can also visit our web site hammondchiefs.com for the most updated information regarding our program. If you have any questions call our Chiefs Message Line at 219-852-9461.

Program Officially Changes Name to Indiana Chiefs of Hammond

Beginning this fall, the Hammond Chiefs & Seminoles Baseball Club will now be known as the Indiana Chiefs of Hammond. The name change will now put all of our teams under one name. As we expand our program for the upcoming fall season and the 2013 spring and summer seasons, all of our teams will now have a common name.

In the past, our 16U team has been known as the Hammond Seminoles and our 18U team has been the Hammond Chiefs. All teams in our program will now have the common name, Indiana Chiefs of Hammond.

Our fall teams will be distinguished by the high school class that a player will be entering this school year. Our summer teams will be distinguished by a player’s age as of May 1, 2013. More details on the teams that we now offer are discussed later in this newsletter.

Fall Long Toss Throwing Program & Baseball Instruction For Players Age 8-18

In an effort to focus on baseball instruction, proper throwing, arm strengthening, and arm care, we are going to be offering a fall long toss throwing program along with baseball instruction. This program will take the place of our Wooden Bat Fall League. We will not be offering a fall wooden bat league this year. Our new fall long toss program with baseball instruction will be offered in its place. Details about this program and the opportunity to register for this program are included in this newsletter.

Instruction Versus Games

Baseball players today are being offered the opportunity to play baseball games almost year round. Spring, summer, fall, and even some indoor winter leagues, are now offered to players of all ages. It’s not uncommon to see players, at a very young age, playing as many as 50 or more games in a single season and with more than one team. With all the teams, leagues, and number of games that players are now playing in, we ask these questions.

When is there time for practice and baseball instruction? We also ask this question. When do players have time to recover and rest their arms from all of these games? Finally we ask. When do players have time to properly condition and strengthen their arms, if they are playing in all of these games?

Ever wonder why so many players seem to be having sore arms and develop problems with their arms at an earlier age.

We believe it is simple. Over-use in games, with little concern for arm recovery time, and a lack of development of arm strengthening, along with improper throwing mechanics.

This is one reason why we are not going to offer a fall wooden bat league this year. We believe that there comes a time in the year when players, especially at a younger age, (8-15) need to spend some time on conditioning and strengthening their arms and develop proper throwing mechanics. We also believe that there is a definite lack of instruction toward the game of baseball in regard to developing and improving on fundamental baseball skills. Everybody is focused on just playing games. Here is what our program is offering.

Here Is Our Fall Long Toss Throwing Program With Baseball Instruction

The Indiana Chiefs of Hammond will be offering a Fall Long Toss Throwing Program with instruction.

The program will be run on Tuesdays & Thursdays from 5-7 p.m. and on Sundays from 1-3 pm.

The program is for players ages 8-18 as of May 1, 2013. Players will be grouped according to age.

The program will last for 6 weeks beginning on September 2 and conclude on October 11.

The program will focus on proper throwing mechanics and arm strengthening along with arm care.

The program will also provide players with a different area of baseball instruction each week during the Sunday sessions.

All activity will take place at Riverside Park. Instruction will be provided by the coaching staff of the Indiana Chiefs.

Registration dates are on Saturday’s August 11, and 18 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. at Riverside Park.

The registration fee is $100 for Hammond residence and $125 for non-Hammond residence.

Registration for players of Hammond Optimist Youth Sports and South Hammond Babe Ruth is $75. Registration is limited to the first 50 players who sign-up.

For more information go to hammondchiefs.com or call 219-852-9461.

A registration form for this program has also been included with this newsletter. This registration form can be brought to one of the above sign-updates or can be mailed to:

Indiana Chiefs Baseball 7318 Howard Ave. Hammond, IN 46324.

Registrations by mail must be received by Sunday, August 19. Registration is limited to the first 50 players who sign-up.

In an effort to include more players into our program, we will be expanding the number of teams that we will have for the 2013 summer season. These teams will be coached by professional style coaches and will not be coached by parents. A player’s age, as of May 1, 2013, will be used to determine what team a player is eligible to try-out for. Here are details and try-out information for these teams.

2013 Summer Team Tryout Dates & Information

The Indiana Chiefs of Hammond will be holding tryouts for their 2013 summer teams.

The Chiefs will have 3 summer teams. Each summer team will be based on a player’s age as of May 1, 2013.

Tryouts for the new 14U Chiefs team will be held on Sunday, August 5th and Sunday, August 12th at 10:00 a.m.

Tryouts for the16U team will be held on Sunday, August 5th and Sunday, August 12th at 1:00 p.m.

Tryouts for the 17U team will be held on Sunday, August 5th and Sunday, August 12th at 4:00 p.m.

All tryouts will be held at Riverside Park in Hammond.

All players interested in trying out for these teams can register for the tryout online. Go to hammondchiefs.com to register online for the tryout. You can also call our Message Line at: 219-852-9461 for more information.

Possible 15U Team May Also Be Offered For The Summer of 2013

At the time of this newsletter, there is a possibility that we may be offering a 15U team in addition to the above teams for the summer of 2013. Check or web site for this possibility as we will be making an announcement on this within the next 2 weeks. All information will be posted on our web site in regard to a possible team for this age group. As of now, if you are going to be 15 as May 1, 2013 you are eligible to try-out for our 16U team and should plan to attend that tryout.

Our Fall Exposure Showcase Teams to Include a Junior and Sophomore Class Team For The Fall of 2012

In the fall of 2010 we started a junior underclass fall showcase team. This team played locally on weekends in the fall and also played at different college sites within our area. The highlight for this team was that they participated in the Perfect Game World Wood Bat Underclassman Showcase in Ft. Myers, Florida. We offered this team as part of our fall program again last year. We would like to announce that we will again be offering this team for the fall 2012 season.

In addition, we will also be offering a second team for incoming sophomore players this fall. This team will play a local weekend schedule, play at college sites, and will attend the Pastime Tournament Showcase Event in Indianapolis in October.

Below are the tryout dates and further information on these teams.

2012 Fall Exposure Teams Tryout Dates & Information

The Chiefs will have 2 fall exposure teams for 2012 fall season.

Tryouts for the sophomore showcase team (class of 2015) will be held on Sunday, August 19th and Sunday, August 26th at 1:00 pm. The fall sophomore showcase team will attend local showcase tournaments on weekends at various college facilities which include Carthage, Valparaiso, Notre Dame and St. Joseph's. This team will also play 2 weekends in local games at our home field, Riverside Park. This team will attend the Pastime Fall Prospects Tournament in Indianapolis in October. The schedule for this team will begin the first weekend in September.

Tryouts for the junior showcase team (class of 2014) will be held on Sunday, August 19th and Sunday, August 26th at 4:00 p.m. The fall junior showcase team will attend the Perfect Game World Wood Bat Underclass Championship in Ft. Myers, Florida along with showcase tournaments at various college fields which include Carthage, Valparaiso, and Notre Dame. This team will also play 2 weekends in local games at our home field, Riverside Park. The schedule for this team will begin the first weekend in September.

Both fall showcase teams will be coached by professional style coaches.

All tryouts will be held at Riverside Park in Hammond. For more information or to register for the tryout online go to hammondchiefs.com or call 219-852-9461.

Winter Programs to Continue Including Sunday Morning Baseball Camp and All Day Winter Baseball Camp

Our off-season winter programs will continue in 2013. Our Sunday Morning Kids Camp will begin in January and more information, including the dates of this camp, will be made available on our web site later this fall. The Sunday Morning Baseball Camps will again be offered for players ages 7-12 and 13-15 as of May 1, 2013. We will also be mailing you a future newsletter which will include the exact dates and times for this camp.

Our all day annual Winter Baseball Camp will again be offered in February. Players ages 10-12 and 13-15 will be eligible to participate in this camp. More details, in regard to the date of this camp, will be made available on our web site and through future newsletter mailings later this year.

Added Benefits for Players Who Are Selected to Play on Our Fall or Summer Teams

If you are a player who is selected to play on our fall or summer teams, you are also eligible to participate in our off-season programs. This includes our fall long toss throwing program, our Sunday indoor open gym workouts beginning in January, and our all day winter camp in February. These are just a few added benefits that our program offers to players who are selected to play for us in the upcoming fall season and the 2013 summer season.

Our Goal and Commitment to You

Our goal is to provide you with the best possible instruction and the most complete baseball program available within our area. We are committed to provide you instruction under the supervision of professional style coaches. If you will be participating in our upcoming fall long toss throwing program with baseball instruction or one of our winter camps, our goal is to teach and instruct you.

We want you to understand the skills that you need to develop to become the best possible baseball player that you can be. We also want you to understand how to condition yourself and get stronger, so that you protect yourself from injury that can occur without proper care.

If you are a player who is selected to play for one of our teams, the above also applies to you. In addition to that, our commitment to you is that we provide you with a schedule where you will be seen at premier showcase type events and have the opportunity to play on many college fields and in front of as many college coaches and scouts as possible.

This includes participating in many Pastime Tournament events along with participation at Perfect Game Tournament and showcase events.

If you are a high school player, our goal is to assist you in any way that we can in order to get you to the next level.

If you are selected to play for our new 14U team, instruction and teaching the game of baseball will always be at the front of our program commitment to you. We will also showcase players who are on this team and make sure that we put you in a position to be ready to play high school baseball at the end of your season. We will accomplish this by teaching baseball skills, scheduling the best opponents possible, and playing at premier showcase and tournament events.

Finally, all of our teams will finish their respective seasons with the opportunity to qualify for and play in at least one national tournament event. As you move on in your baseball careers, whether it be high school or college, there will always be something that you will be competing for as a team. Our program will offer that to your team. You will have to compete as a team at the end of your season to advance to and or win a national championship event. That’s just the nature of the game.

Closing

Thanks to all players and parents for taking the time to read our newsletter. We hope you will consider being a part of one of our upcoming events. We want you to be the best possible baseball player that you can be. Our goal is to assist you in any way that we can to be the best that you can be.